LTO sets driving schools’ maximum prescribed rates

Driving schools will soon have to follow the maximum prescribed rates for those who will apply for a driver license.

This as the Land Transportation Office issued Memorandum Circular No. JMT-2023-2390 (also known as “Omnibus Guidelines on the Accreditation, Supervision, and Control of Driving Institutions, and the Standardization of Driver and Conductor’s Education”) which will be effective starting April 15.

Under the said directive, the maximum allowable amount that private driving schools can charge only up to P1,000 for the theoretical driving course (TDC).

On the other hand, the practical driving course (PDC) is set at P2,500 for license holders with codes A and A1; up to P4,000 for license codes B, B1, and B2; and P8,000 for heavy vehicles with license code C (carrier of goods), D or passenger vehicles (bus), and CE (articulated vehicles).

LTO Chief Jose Arturo Tugade warned that stiff charges for those who will follow the guidelines stated in the newly-released memorandum circular.

Those who will not adhere to the standardized rates for the first time shall be slapped with a P50,000-fine and six-month suspension of the accreditation. Driving institutions that will be caught disobeying for the second time will face a P100,000-suspension and one-year suspension. Revocation and cancellation of accreditation await those who will violate for the third time.

"Nabuo ang maximum prescribed rates na ito bilang tugon sa apela ng marami nating kababayan na umiiyak sa mataas na singilin pero maituturing din itong patas na hakbang para sa driving schools na namuhunan din (These maximum prescribed rates were formed in response to the appeal of many of our countrymen who are crying over the high charges but it can also be considered a fair step for the driving schools that have also invested),” Tugade explained.

Meanwhile, the new ruling also reduced the number of days to complete the mandatory 15-hour TDC. Based on the new guideline, the applicant driver has to complete the course within two days (from the previous three day) — seven hours on the first day and eight hours on the next – in a span of one month.

Additionally, applicants who would undergo PDC need to complete at least eight hours for every license that he needs to have.

“PDC for light and heavy vehicles shall be conducted for at least two days while eight-hour PDC for motorcycles may be conducted in one day, provided that the student-driver has proven to have already acquired the knowledge based on the assessment by a practical driving instructor,” the memorandum circular noted.

Driving schools are also mandated to to key in the details of each applicant into the LTO system using the Land Transportation Management System (LTMS) Client ID. This will help determine the actual start date of its TDC amid the "non-appearance" issue of some applicants.

“Registration of his/her biometrics before and after every session for attendance purposes is required. The driving institution shall provide and maintain an attendance sheet to record the actual presence of the applicant during the conduct of the face-to-face TDC and written examination or validation,” it added.

Applicants who completed the course and passed the final exam at the TDC and PDC will receive a Certificate of Course Completion that is real-time and electronically transmitted to LTMS through the Driving Institution Portal.

Photos from Land Transportation Office, Ruben Manahan IV

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